mr biden's team is pressing on with preparations for his time in office. on monday he is expected to announce members of a coronavirus task force, led by scientists and public health officials. he is also preparing to return the us to the paris agreement on combating climate change. the former american president, george w bush, has congratulated joe biden — calling the election "fundamentally fair". but donald trump is still refusing to concede — he continues to assert that the election has been "stolen" without supplying evidence. queen elizabeth has led remembrance sunday commemorations — as people around the uk paid their respects to the fallen largely from home, because of coronavirus restrictions. at the cenotaph on whitehall in london — the queen was joined by other members of the royal family and political leaders.

now on bbc news, the week in parliament. hello and welcome to the week in parliament, a week when the prime minister changed his mind and locked down england again. i'm not prepared to take the risk with the lives of the british people. but his predecessor challenge the numbers behind the lockdown. it is not 1,000 deaths a day so the prediction was wrong before it was even used. also in this programme, a call for the bonfire night ban to go further. it isjust irresponsible. how can we morallyjustify the sale of fireworks ina pandemic? but first, for weeks borisjohnson had resisted

calls for a temporary lockdown in england to slow the spread of coronavirus. he accused his critics of trying to turn the lights out, but as infections continue to rise, the prime minister admitted his strategy of local tiered restrictions had failed to reduce the number of infections. he came to the commons to seek the backing of mps and to explain why a four week long lockdown was needed. why nonessential shops had to close, cinemas and gyms to close. borisjohnson was keen to reassure sceptical mps that it would end on december the 2nd when he hoped to return to a regional approach. although he didn't rule out the lockdown continuing. of course this is not something that any of us wanted to do, none of us coming to politics to tell people once again to shutter their shops, to furlough their staff or stay away from their friends and family and all members feel the pain and anxiety that

we're all going to share in the month ahead. but as prime minister, when i am confronted with dated that projects are nhs could even collapse, with deaths in the second wave potentially exceeding those of the first and when i look at what is happening now, among some of our continental friends and i see doctors who've tested positive been ordered alas to work on covid wards and patients airlifted to hospital is in some other countries simply to make space, i can reach only one conclusion. i am not prepared to take the risk with the lives of the british people. sir keir starmer said labour supported the latest restrictions, but they should have been introduced earlier. there have been huge mistakes made in recent weeks during this pandemic. we've been told so many times by the prime minister, often on wednesday afternoon, there's a plan to prevent a second wave, it's working. well, there wasn't and it didn't.

and now, less than four months after the prime minister told us this would all be over by christmas, we are being asked to approve emergency regulations to shock ——asked to approve emergency regulations to shut the country down. that is a terrible thing for the country to go through. but there isn't any excuse for inaction or for allowing the virus to get further out of control. so, labour will act in the national interest and we will vote for these restrictions, these regulations tonight. the first backbench mp to speak was theresa may who had barely begun before her successor left the chamber. can i first of all say that i do not envy him and the government, the decisions they are having to take and the difficult... and the difficult position that they find themselves in. boris johnson later apologised, but he was not around to hear her question the data behind the decision, particularly a slide used in a weekend news conference modelling the possibility of 4000 deaths per day. if you look at the trajectory showing that went to 4000

deaths a day, we would have reach 1000 by the end of october. now, the average in the last week of october was 259 by my calculation. each of those deaths is a sadness and our thoughts are with the families, but it is not 1,000 deaths a day, so the prediction was wrong before it it was even used. and this leads to a problem for the government, because for many people, it looks as if the figures were used to support the policy, rather than the policy being based on the figures. she later abstained. other conservative mps went further. and the people that will be damaged by this will be the poorest in society, they will be damaged because they lose theirjobs. the loss of a job is notjust an income problem, it is self respect, it is a status, it is what you do, how you stand up in front of your family and show them

that you are bringing, as it were, the money back to the house and improving their lot. i think there is an unintended perhaps but an arrogance in assuming that government has the right to do so. that it has the right to tell people whether they can visit their elderly parents in a care home, whether it has the right to tell parents they cannot see their children or their grandchildren. whether it has any right, for heaven's sake, to tell consenting adults with whom they are allowed to sleep. other tories did back the government, albeit with a heavy heart. so i will be reluctantly supporting the government tonight, but with a caveat, i am putting the minister and the government on 28 days notice. they've had many months but now, over that short period, they need to put in place a public health strategy. john steinback wrote that a sad soul can kill you far quicker than a germ. it is not entirely biologically correct but we understand the point. loneliness and isolation extract a heavy mental and physical toll. ultimately this comes to a very

significant judgment. it comes to a judgment about how we best manage a nation and lead a nation through an incredibly difficult period with a pandemic of a virus that exists only to multiply and a virus that lives and breathes off the essence of what it is to be human. order! when it came to the vote, mps backed the new restrictions for england by 516 votes — 38 with more than 30 conservative mps voted against the government. although the lockdown restrictions apply only in england, the government decision to extend the furlough scheme, paying 80% of some workers‘ wages of some workers applies across the uk. politicians in scotland, wales and northern ireland were swift to point out that this happened only when england went into lockdown and not when the other nations

impose their own restrictions. after some confusion, the chancellor came to the commons, against the backdrop of bleak bank of england productions. given the significant uncertainty, a worsening economic backdrop and the need to give people and businesses security through the winter, i believe it is right to go further. so we can announce today that the furlough scheme will not be extended for one month, it will be extended until the end of march. the government will continue to help pay people's wages of people up to 80% of the normal amount, all employers will have to pay four hours not worked is the cost of employer nets and pension contributions. i also want to reassure the people of scotland, wales and northern ireland. the furlough scheme was designed and delivered by the government of the united kingdom on behalf

of all the people of the united kingdom, wherever they live. that has been the case since march and it is a case now and it will remain the case until next march. businesses are more gauche have been pleading for certainty from this government, but the chancellor keeps ignoring them until the last possible moment, after jobs have been lost and businesses have gone bust. the national lockdown was announced on saturday, many weeks after both sage and labour called for a circuit breaker. the chancellor ridiculed those proposals and labour argued that scotland should have access to the furlough scheme, should there need to be a national lockdown north of the border and once again the chancellor said no. then the prime minister said yes, cue another undignified scramble to accept that demand today. the snp said nations outside england had been ignored. the reality is that scotland, wales, northern ireland

and the north of england have been dingied by the chancellor until he was forced to lock down in england. i'm glad the furlough and the self employment support scheme has been extended until march but we should be clear that this kind of support is not unique to the uk and countries of all sizes have been supporting their people and many of them have done it more competently and more generously than the uk. i'm glad the honourable lady welcomed the extension ofjob support through to next year and with regards to scotland, it is clear, even the first minister has conceded, that this generous support currently available in scotland is only possible and affordable because we have a treasury that represents the whole of the united kingdom. rishi sunak. details of the english lockdown were initially confirmed by the prime minister in a downing street news conference on saturday evening. boris johnson was flanked by sir patrick vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser and

england's chief medical officer, professor chris whitty. as we have seen, their use of a slide suggesting covid deaths could reach 4,000 per day if no action was taken, has proved controversial. the two men faced a grilling when they appear before mps on the science and technology committee. was it sensible orfair to put forward the graph with 4,000 deaths a day without, with or without caveats, pictures tell a much more powerful story than numbers do, that will have frightened a lot of people around the country. i positioned that as a scenario a couple of weeks ago, based on an assumption to try and give a new reasonable worst—case scenario and that those figures therefore were not as reliable as the six week figure which i spent time talking about. those figures were ones done

by major academic groups, based on those assumptions, and in the spirit of trying to make sure that things are shared and open, they are the things that we have seen. you don't think that you've just frightened people, who do not have your scientific background and understanding of models? i hope not. i hope not and that's certainly not the aim. it's difficult to not see your family and hug your relatives and worry about what's going to happen at christmas. yes or no, is this lockdown going to work? if people adhere to it in the way that i expect they will, it will reduce r below one in the great majority of all of the country and that will pull us back in time and that will make a huge difference. i would not want to imply that suddenly that means that covid is over as a problem, this is a long haul and i have repeatedly said, and i think people broadly accept this.

chris whitty. borisjohnson told mps that in the medium to long term he was more optimistic than he had been a tackling the virus. the reasons for his optimism? a link to the prospect of mass testing and a vaccine. mps on the health and science committees joined forces to try and find out when a vaccine might be ready. as you look ahead, what do you think the percentage chances are that we will get a vaccine at some stage in the next year that will wipe out coronavirus? well, to wipe out coronavirus, i think very slim. to get a vaccine that has an effect of both reducing illness and reducing mortality, very high. again, if you look at the data that's been generated so far, by multiple different vaccines and companies so far, actually the data is pretty good. you think we could be in a situation by easter or early summer where all the vulnerable people in the country have got

a vaccine that will have some impact on reducing the dangers of coronavirus? that is my view, yes. 50%. kate bingham. time for some news in brief now from around westminster. the commons voted to reject measures introduced by the house of lords to protect the uk's animal welfare and food standards in future trade deals. to avoid chlorine washed chicken or hormone fed beef appearing on the shelves. both foods are already illegal in the uk and ministers say the ban will be enshrined in uk law at the end of the transition period. one american—born mp look forward to see more british produce on american shelves. i hope that we will notjust be looking at how we can protect ourselves but how we can promote the british farmer, how we can package ourselves and put our delicious cheese, apples, wine in the lips and stomachs of our north american colleagues and that they were longingly look for the delicious food quality standards that only we can provide.

bonfire night has a special significance around westminster, but with organised gatherings banned in england, mps were worried that more people would hold their own events. more than 300,000 people signed a petition calling for a ban on the sale of fireworks to the public, because of the impact of loud, unexpected noises on vulnerable people and on animals. the petition was debated in westminster hall. what can we expect this year when organised displays will not be happening? it is bound to lead to an increase in demand on emergency services at a time when we should be protecting our nhs. it is just irresponsible. how can we morallyjustify the sale of fireworks in a pandemic? a business minister was sympathetic to the problem but said banning fireworks was not the answer. we acknowledge the experience of the national police chiefs

council who say banning fireworks would push the market underground and make them more difficult to monitor. in addition it could lead to more children buying products inappropriately through online media sources and from outside the uk. individual sourcing fireworks from illegitimate or unsafe supplies may unwittingly buy products that are unsafe as they may not meet uk's safety requirements. for 15 years, people hoping to become british citizens have had to take what is known as the ‘life in the uk' test. it covers british values, history and everyday life but 600 historians have complained about the accuracy of the test and the accompanying textbook, and peers had their own complaints. having tried for interest half a dozen of the tests failed one, i thought it was generally correct as far as it goes and is on the right

lines but may i suggest two twea ks ? one, just 24 questions is not nearly enough. that should be doubled to about 50 and more time given, and secondly i found only one answer on the rule of law. there should be a lot more stressing that this is a liberal democratic country where democracy trumps religion and also that we have respect and tolerance for everyone in society. and no riding on the pavement either. laughs i thank my noble friend for pointing those things out. i suspect if we took a straw poll of all views on this house the handbook would be a very long handbook. now he's more accustomed to a maiden over than a maiden speech but the recently ennobled former cricketer ian botham used his first contribution in the lords to call on the government to support community sports clubs. my whole life has revolved around sport, golf and fishing to name a few and most

will know a bit of cricket. sport has been more than a game to me, it has been a life and given my life structure and focus and kept me both physically and mentally fit. my career has been well documented so it is no secret strong—willed man who will fight for the causes close to my heart, be this sport, countryside, charity and the world we are now living, coronavirus and how we continue to live with this pandemic. lord botham, whose presence, even remote, seemed to leave some of his new colleagues rather starstruck. the pandemic continues to dominate debates in parliaments across the uk. in scotland, where a system with five levels of restrictions has just been put into place, the heads of the medical and surgical colleges have warned of an impending storm in the nhs after publication of its plans for the winter. so can i ask the first minister, how many beds are we short, how many staff are we short

because of illness and isolating, and why is itjust a week after that preparedness plan was published, senior medics are already sounding the alarm? can i first of all say that we listen very carefully to the royal colleges and liaise very carefully with the royal colleges, that will be true of the health secretary, chief medical officer and others within the scottish government. we are not short right now of beds or staff but we do face a very challenging winter. that is true of scotland, england, wales, northern ireland and much of europe. nicola sturgeon defended her government's overall strategy. today, england is in full lockdown. i can't rule that out for all or part of scotland but right now we are in a better position. that is down to in part the decisions have been taking taking and much more it is down to the compliance of people the length and breadth of the country, but we have no room for complacency at all which is why when we come to review the allocation

of levels on tuesday, we will take a very cautious and very precautionary stance. but this is a storm that has been brewing for some time. long waits and limited capacity were already the reality for thousands of patients. workforce shortages were already having a profound impact on staff and their workload long before the pandemic. so what action is the first minister going to take in the national health service in response to these stark warnings from the front line staff in our national health service? i don't mean to minimise the challenge at all. i hope people listening to me, notjust here just now, but every day for the last seven months, whatever they think about these decisions i have taken will not in any way get the sense i am underestimating the severity of the challenge. i know the severity of the challenge we face. nicola sturgeon. wales‘s 17 day firebreak ends on monday. members of the senedd met

virtually four questions members of the senedd met virtually for first miniter‘s questions in the plaid cymru leader argued that the welsh government's reliance on westminster for funding the furlough scheme was strengthening the argument for independence. if we were able to fund ourselves unfettered as an independent country, we could do so much more, invest in the way that slovakia has been able to do, testing two thirds of its entire population over the weekend. when you compare that to the failing uk lighthouse lab system, which is letting wales down, is it any wonder that people are joining yes cymru in its thousands? i make the case that the member never does for social solidarity across the united kingdom, for us to share our risks and to get our rewards when we need them. i think that has always been to wales‘s advantage. it is for the member to explain to wales why he believes that bereft of everything we obtain from being part

of the wider whole, wales would be more successful alone on the high seas. mark dreyford. the northern ireland executive introduced its own month—long restrictions on the 16th of october. at question time, the deputy first minister michelle o'neill prepared mlas for the publication of an exit strategy. there is no doubt these are the most challenging of times for everybody but not least for the sectors that have been really badly hit. we are now in just over two weeks into a four—week period of intervention. we know our objective is to get the r rate down and the work we are doing as an executive, collectively as ministers has a role to play in this. what does the exit strategy look like and how can we move forward? how can we keep the virus at a level that allows us to be able to move around a bit more freely?

so we intend to publish, work around an exit strategy over the coming days. the archbishop of canterbury justin welby has called on the government to enable people to continue to worship safely during lockdown. most communal services in england are banned, although funerals can be held with a maximum of 30 mourners. in the lords, a labour peer who is also a methodist minister said churches had already taken steps to keep worshippers safe. for methodists, why we are even reduced to not singing hymns. we are reduced to humming behind our masks or indeed some kind of trappist silence. on behalf of the many elderly people for whom the act of worship is the only social activity they have from one week to another, when can their needs be taken seriously and into account so that they can enjoy a sense of well—being even in these difficult times? we recognise that this is going to be a very difficult period for people of faith during lockdown.

the position is somewhat better than the first lockdown when places of worship were shut entirely. i note what the noble lord has requested and we recognise there are some significant events for all faiths that will be taking place during this lockdown, and i'm sure that this will be kept under review the government. on sunday morning, eighth of november, we are planning a remembrance service in lincoln cathedral, an immense space, where everybody can be properly socially distanced. instead the government has come up with the imbecilic answer that the veterans, all of whom are 90 and over, can go and stand in the cold and be rained on, but they cannot go into a safe, socially distanced cathedral. this is a disgrace.

i recognise the point that you're making, but we should also recognise british hindus will not be able to celebrate their version of christmas during this period. there is also the birthday of the guru for the british sikhs, but as someone who lost their own mother in the first wave of lockdown and was very much a believer, three days in hospital before she died, who said her rosary every day, i understand what it means to herfaith. i was able to take my father who survived to the church he worshipped every week for the first time this sunday. that was very difficult for me, and he was very emotional so i do understand the point you are making. the concerns are also shared by mps. the leader of the commons tried to reassure them in his own way. the relationship between the church and state is one that sometimes proves rather difficult. who can forget 29th december, 1170 when thomas becket was murdered there in his own cathedral by the agents of the state sent by king henry ii, and the relationship

between church and state has not always been smooth. he said arguments of the balance of power between secular and spiritual authorities had raged for centuries. so i think my honourable friend raises a point of fundamental importance, that i hope that we may all take, the reassurance that those of us who have faith may be certain of, is that the highest authority is unquestionably immortal, invisible and only wise, and even outside the control of the house of commons. jacob rees—mogg with not so much a sermon as a theological history lesson. that was the week in parliament, thank you for watching. don't forget tojoin alessia mccarthy on bbc parliament at 11pm on monday night for the latest from the commons and the lords, but for me, goodbye.

hello there. southerly winds are going to bring us a mild start to the week but they are also bringing extensive cloud, a little bit of damp weather and we've seen mist and fog patches as well, so rather murky conditions for a time, too. now, the satellite picture shows the area of cloud responsible for the drizzle and some fog lurking underneath that. got pressure to the south—west and then a more substantial area of cloud. now, that's going to be coming in towards the middle part of the week so we are going to see some rain over the next few days as well. now, for the early risers, i think it's probably going to be a damp start to the day around the east coast of scotland, some eastern areas of england as well with mist and fog patches dotted around across scotland, england and wales, so murky conditions too. then we will start to see further bits and pieces of rain working into northern ireland and wales and south—west england, and that is all tied in with this area of low pressure that's going to be pushing north—eastwards as we go through the course of monday. so monday, a cloudy start to the day. as i say, pretty murky across scotland, much of england and wales,

with some bursts of rain for northern ireland, wales, western areas of england and through the day, this rain will gradually push its way northwards and eastwards. it will very gradually brighten up across western areas but otherwise, scotland and most of england staying pretty cloudy, really. despite that, it'll be mild — temperatures reaching a high of up to 16 degrees celsius in the south—east of england. now, through tuesday, the low pressure is still on the charts and we've still got a lot of cloud in the forecast, still with some bursts of rain slowly pushing north and eastwards. but the low pressure on tuesday is going to weaken significantly, and so the cloud will begin to break up and we should start to see some brighter weather slowly pushing in from the west, so a greater chance of seeing at least a little bit of sunshine, and it's still mild — average temperature for this time of year is about 11 in london, so 15 degrees is still four above normal. wednesday sees a more substantial area of rain move in off the atlantic and this one will be accompanied by some strengthening winds with gale force gusts working in across western areas. so heavy rain for northern

ireland, heavy rain also developing through the day for west scotland, southern wales and the moors of south—west england. a very squally band of rain, too. notice it's dry for much of the day over eastern areas of england — it'll probably have brighter spells as well — but this band of squally rain will push its way eastwards as we go through wednesday night to reach all areas.

welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: joe biden presses on with preparations for his time in office. he's expected to announce members of a coronavirus task force on monday. i pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but unify. who doesn't see red states and blue states, only sees the united states. president trump plays golf again. on twitter, he continues to claim, without evidence, that the election was "stolen". joe biden has met every british prime minister for the last 40 years. but questions are being asked about his future relationship with boris johnson — a man he's previously described as "a clone of donald trump".